Hamas delays second mass release of hostages until Israel lets aid in northern Gaza
After a release of 24 hostages on Friday, a further 14 Israeli hostages were expected to be released by Hamas on Saturday in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners
One of the released hostages by Hamas on Friday
Hamas has delayed the second release of hostages until Israel lets aid into northern Gaza.
The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday that it had decided to delay the second round of hostage releases until Israel is committed to letting aid trucks enter northern Gaza.
A further 14 Israeli hostages were expected to be released by Hamas on Saturday in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas already freed 24 hostages on Friday, including 13 Israelis, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners. The other hostages were ten Thai citizens and one Filipino man.
The United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, said 137 trucks carrying fuel, food, water, medicine and other essentials had passed into the embattled Palestinian territory via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Friday.
During the attacks by Hamas in Israel on 7 October, 240 individuals were taken as captives, and around 1,200 people were killed.
In response Israel launched an intensive military operation in Gaza, killing nearly 15,000 people, mostly civilians.
The Israeli army said that around 215 hostages are still being held in Gaza, adding that it is unknown whether they are alive or dead.
During the day Egypt said that it received "positive signals from all parties" that the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be extended "for one or two days".
Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said officials were holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement over extending the four-day truce.
A Qatari delegation is also in Israel discussing a possible extension to the ongoing truce agreement.
It had been reported that in total Hamas should be releasing 50 hostages in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel.
The team from Qatar includes an operations team which is coordinating with the parties on the ground, as well as officials discussing the possibility of extending the deal beyond 4 days, according to the source.
